"In the piece, Reed writes that Democrats and liberals have become too fixated on election results rather than aiming for long term goals that address the issues of economic inequality, and that the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama too often acquiesced to the demands of Wall Street and the right."

---First off, Barack Obama is not a liberal. If anything he's center-right.By the way, Hillary Clinton IS NOT A LIBERAL EITHER.

So, if you are indeed thinking that 2016 is going to be the year of Hillary Clinton then fine, but just know and ADMIT to yourself and your friends that you are not voting for a liberal.

And stop hanging your head in shame when the so-called "radioactive" tag is applied.

Librul, libtard, damn liberals, you liberals, stop it, just stop it and stop it now. There is nothing wrong with liberal political philosophy. What's wrong is that liberals have forgotten what they have accomplished and liberals also forget that they do indeed NEED good conservatives as "the loyal opposition."

Conservatives forgot a very long time ago that they too need liberal ideas and good liberals as THEIR loyal opposition.

But first and foremost, liberals have to do away with their self-esteem problem, which is bought and purchased from today's unhinged and extremist right wing as almost a daily nutritional supplement. That's a product of The John Birch Society, also known today as The Tea Party. Are you really buying the crap that they put out? Is there even a shred of legitimacy to this fringe group, or are you ready to accept that the richest families in America have decimated the moderates and bought themselves control of a political party?

Because that's what has happened.Even the Republican Speaker of the House admits it.You should, too.

Stop it, stop being defensive, stop feeling guilty, stop feeling second class. If you really do aspire to liberal thought, then learn what liberalism really is all about and, if you're still interested, take up the mantle with pride.

And for God's sake, let's actually ELECT a real liberal.Bernie Sanders might be a good choice, if paired with a more moderate partner.

Enough with the Clintons AND the Bushes. Barbara Bush even said that she is done with putting Bushes in the White House.It's time to end the Clinton Dynasty now too before it becomes one.

Stop surrendering, and start coming up with ideas.We have two years to do it, are you up to the task?

_________________________
The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth. - H. L. Mencken

pondering_it_all
old hand
Registered: 02/27/06
Posts: 6832
Loc: North San Diego County

Reed is right about some things, but seems intent on ignoring reality on many others. We don't elect Kings, we elect Presidents. Obama's preferences have not mattered much, since he is quite limited in what he can do without a Congress that delivers him bills he can sign.

Even during the brief period when there was a Democratic majority in the House, several Democratic Representatives and Senators from conservative states opposed Obama's agenda items because their basic responsibility is to represent the interests and wishes of their constituents.

Obama was not able to move public opinion in those home districts and states, but I don't think this had anything to do with his ideas: I think it was naive to expect a Black President to win over a lot of support in those Red States. Especially when the Right Wing Noise Machine fills the media with "Kenyan, Socialist, Bolshevik" nonsense. So despite his wishes and "Vision for America", everything Obama wanted had to compromise with Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress in order to pass into law. The end results look like Obama is a Chamber Of Commerce (or Wall Street) Republican.

This is something I predicted in my personal calculus of who I should support back in 2007. That's why I supported John Edwards: At that time, a good-looking, smooth-talking, Southern Populist who I thought could win enough personal identification to move public opinion leftward in those Red State districts. (Just like LBJ did, with the resulting Civil Rights and Great Society programs.)

If you think my calculation was shallow, please keep in mind that a large percentage of American voters admit they supported a particular candidate because they "liked the way he looked"!

Senator Clinton will run into the same problem as President, but I believe to a lesser extent: More than 50% of voters are female (even in the most conservative areas), so I think that will swamp the effect of the inherent misogyny in conservative districts. Senators and Representatives will look at the numbers and end up supporting her proposals.

Here's the big question: which old, rich, white guy will be the GOP nominee?

_________________________A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich

Americans are at the end of a long, hard fight - 20+ years of rancorous, deceptive, Republican politics. But... I see a glimmer of a rational resurgence. John Boehner giving up on the debt ceiling fight may auger well. Ever on the right there are misgivings about the radical right. It has been 60 years since there has been a rational Republican leader - oh, maybe for a few years in the 70s. What passes for conservative nowadays is foreign to any true conservative, and although I am a moderate, my views are considered extreme by what passes for the "center" of the right. Until America takes an emetic, the disease of radicalism will fester in its bowels.

_________________________A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich